Two screens, four modes, one odd Ultrabook: The Asus Taichi 21 review

Yes, this laptop has a second screen on its lid.

The Windows 8 convertible laptops we've seen have all been defined by two things: their screens and the compromises they make to accommodate Microsoft's latest operating system. Asus' Taichi Ultrabook is no different, but it does have a unique twist: instead of a keyboard dock, a flipping screen, or a hinge that literally bends over backwards into tablet mode, the Taichi actually includes two separate screens, one on the inside of the laptop's lid and one on the outside.

Otherwise, the Taichi follows the pattern established by many of the Windows 8 Ultrabooks we've seen: good ideas marred by small (but significant) compromises. If you're looking for a laptop that can take full advantage of Windows 8's finger-friendly touch environment and the traditional Windows desktop, here's what you need to know about Asus' double-screened convertible.

Asus' high-end Windows offerings have impressed us in the past with their general build quality, and thankfully the Taichi takes quite a few cues from the Zenbook Prime: namely, the solid aluminum construction, the generally excellent keyboard, and the great screen quality.

We gently chided the Zenbook Prime for its schizophrenic use of several different kinds of metal on its lid, palm rest, and bottom, but the Taichi rectifies this problem—it uses a handsome dark burgundy-ish aluminum throughout. There's absolutely no bending or flexing anywhere in the laptop, and it feels very sturdy.

The downside is that, between the metal body, the extra screen, and glass in the lid, the laptop is a bit heavier than some of its contemporaries—our 11.6-inch model weighs 2.76 pounds, compared to 2.38 pounds for the 11-inch MacBook Air. The 13-inch Taichi 31 weighs 3.42 pounds, compared to 2.87 pounds for the 13-inch Acer Aspire S7 and 2.96 pounds for the 13-inch MacBook Air. This extra half-pound or so doesn't make a huge difference for a laptop that you sling in a bag, but it does make the computer that much more awkward to use as a tablet—the Taichi makes a better tablet than many of the 13-inch convertibles we've seen, but it's still a bit thick and heavy compared to something like an iPad or a Nexus tablet.

There are rubber feet on the bottom of the laptop, as is customary—ideally, these would keep it from sliding around on your desk. However, when the screen is fully open, the rear edge of the lid makes contact with the desk and lifts up the rear base of the laptop just a bit. This angles the keyboard forward slightly, which we don't mind for typing, but it also lifts the laptop's rubber feet up off the desk, which seems to defeat the purpose. The rubber feet toward the front of the laptop stay anchored on the desk, which prevents some sliding, but it's not as stable as other laptops you may be used to.

Enlarge/ On the right side, a power slider, micro-HDMI port, USB 3.0 port, and power jack.

Andrew Cunningham

Enlarge/ The bottom of the Taichi is mostly unadorned, though you can see the cutouts for the speakers on the left and right edges.

Andrew Cunningham

Enlarge/ The bottom edge of the screen lifts the bottom of the laptop up off the desk, keeping the rubber feet from doing their job.

Andrew Cunningham

Enlarge/ The Taichi knows how to accessorize: it comes with a stiff cloth pouch for the laptop itself, as well as a smaller pouch for the USB to Ethernet and mini VGA to VGA dongles.

Andrew Cunningham

The laptop's port selection is mostly good, though it lacks a card reader—two USB 3.0 ports join a mini VGA port, a micro HDMI port, and a headphone jack. A full-size VGA port and Ethernet jack are provided via included dongles. There's a volume rocker and screen orientation lock on the left side of the laptop for when it's in tablet mode, and there's a small power slider on the right side. We tend to prefer sliders to buttons when they're positioned on one of the edges of a laptop, just because it reduces the likelihood that you'll press it on accident.

Two small stereo speakers adorn the bottom of the laptop on its left and right sides, where the sound can be amplified by bouncing off your desk (or muffled by bouncing off your lap). The computer also has two webcams (one for each screen) that are both suitable for video chats and not much else, as is generally the case in these Ultrabooks—Asus' spec sheet suggests that the 1080p camera on the tablet side is superior to the 720p webcam on the laptop side, but to our eyes the picture quality was roughly similar.

Screens

Enlarge/ Using the Taichi's base as a stand for the touchscreen that's on the lid.

Andrew Cunningham

Enlarge/ Fold it down, and the contents of the laptop screen automatically shift to the tablet's screen.

Andrew Cunningham

Like so many of the most interesting Windows 8 laptops, the Taichi is defined by its screen, and this laptop stands alone: there is a 11.6-inch 1920×1080 IPS display inside the laptop, and a second 11.6-inch 1920×1080 IPS display on the laptop's lid (the latter of which is endowed with an active digitizer, for pen users). By default, only the inner display is active in laptop mode and only the lid's display is active in tablet mode. Closing and opening the lid will automatically turn off one screen and turn on the other—there's a capacitive Windows button on the lid that also lights up when the convertible is in tablet mode.

Asus rates the internal screen and the touchscreen at 280 and 250 nits, respectively. While they don't get as bright as other Ultrabooks we've seen, the color and viewing angles are excellent. At the moment, there's a pretty wide gulf between the gorgeous 1080p IPS displays used in most of the Ultrabooks we've seen and the washed out, 1366×768 displays that still plague cheaper laptops. There aren't many laptops that sit in between these two extremes, but at least the situation on the high end of the market has improved enough that a good display is the rule rather than the exception.

Enlarge/ The upper-right corner of the Taichi Home application allows you to switch easily between the four display modes.

Andrew Cunningham

The two screens can be managed through the same Windows control panel used to control multiple displays, but Asus also includes its own software that makes switching between the two easier—the TaichiHome app, which is mapped to the blue key to the right of F12, is the main hub for manipulating the screens (as well as tying into a few other Asus services).

TaichiHome can toggle four different modes for the laptop's two screens: laptop mode is the default mode of operation. Tablet mode (which, remember, toggles on automatically when you close the lid) can be engaged when the lid is open to allow you to use the touchscreen while the base of the laptop serves as a stand. Mirror mode displays the same image on both screens, allowing someone looking at the back of the laptop to see what you're doing and vice versa (in this mode, both the keyboard and trackpad and the touchscreen can be used to control the computer). Finally, "dual screen mode" extends the desktop to the screen on the lid, useful for things like PowerPoint presentations where you want to show someone something but don't necessarily want them to see everything that's on your screen.

Asus' implementation of the convertible concept does avoid some of the pitfalls that other laptops are susceptible to: the regular hinge isn't as bulky or wobbly as the laptops where the screen separates from the base; unlike convertibles where the screen slides over top of the keyboard, the hinge doesn't have a lot of moving (and potentially breakable) parts or take up room that could be given over to the keyboard and trackpad; unlike Lenovo's (generally good) Yoga laptops, using the laptop in tablet or "stand" mode doesn't leave the keyboard exposed.

The biggest drawback for those used to touch is probably the fact that the interior screen is non-touch. If you're used to reaching out and interacting with the screen even in laptop mode (as I have become accustomed to doing over a few months with Windows 8 laptops), you'll have to unlearn some behaviors to interact with the Taichi. Another potential problem is the fact that the lid's touchscreen is exposed at all times—if you've got it in your bag with something that could scratch it, or if you set something on top of it or do some other fairly innocuous thing you could do with a regular laptop, it might cause problems for the Taichi.

This seems like a more elegant solution than the flip-screen options, and while I can only imagine a handful of situations where I'd like to be able to present to people sitting across from me, it does add flexibility.

"In a general-usage test (Web browsing, productivity apps, listening to music, and watching video) with the Taichi in laptop mode and the screen brightness set at 100 percent, it lasts only two hours and 42 minutes."

At the risk of TOPIC, when is a trackpad actually good? It seems like every review I read includes as aside that the trackpad is shit.

I've never used one where I thought "YES! They finally got it perfect!", it usually just goes somewhere between 'fine' and 'miserable'.

Apple's are the closest, though it's probably easier to get it right when you have 100% total control over the hardware AND the drivers AND how the trackpad interacts with the software (multitouch gestures and etc.). Anything else seems to be a recipe for mediocrity - every time a PC OEM puts out a new laptop it's like they've never had to make a trackpad work before.

I'd have to say this is one of those designs that people a few years later will look and laugh at. Some things I can see having potential, such as the Yoga design or the Sony Vaio slider, but a two-screen laptop is not one of them. Maybe a single, transparent screen and a dual orientation keyboard will work, but that's a few years away, at least.

Seems like the fact that the lid in the open position lifting the chassis off of which ever surface it's on would leverage increased stress on the hinge. Perhaps the hinge is sound enough to deal with that, but for me, It just seems like an overly bad design decision.

Like the whole Microsoft Tablet PC arrangement most Tablet PCs had over a decade ago? With a single center hinge that rotates 180 degrees either direction. That was/is the way to go.

Bought one of those (Acer travelmate C110) in 2003 for a whopping $2200. It is still going. Painfully slow to start, but gets the job done. Swivel hinge is absolutely the way to go. This (two screens) seems like a really bad design decision.

PS: If I can just find a 2.5" PATA SSD and a Maxell rechargeable CMOS battery, I can get another 5 years out if it I think.

Like the whole Microsoft Tablet PC arrangement most Tablet PCs had over a decade ago? With a single center hinge that rotates 180 degrees either direction. That was/is the way to go.

Bought one of those (Acer travelmate C110) in 2003 for a whopping $2200. It is still going. Painfully slow to start, but gets the job done. Swivel hinge is absolutely the way to go. This (two screens) seems like a really bad design decision.

PS: If I can just find a 2.5" PATA SSD and a Maxell rechargeable CMOS battery, I can get another 5 years out if it I think.

There is the Super Talent DuraDrive ET2 with up to 256 GB or the Transcend Solid-State Disk TS128GPSD320 with up to 128 GB. Not sure on the Maxell CMOS though

Like the whole Microsoft Tablet PC arrangement most Tablet PCs had over a decade ago? With a single center hinge that rotates 180 degrees either direction. That was/is the way to go.

Bought one of those (Acer travelmate C110) in 2003 for a whopping $2200. It is still going. Painfully slow to start, but gets the job done. Swivel hinge is absolutely the way to go. This (two screens) seems like a really bad design decision.

PS: If I can just find a 2.5" PATA SSD and a Maxell rechargeable CMOS battery, I can get another 5 years out if it I think.

What will it take for 2nd tier PC OEMs to finally learn that good industrial design and engineering are at least as important as features and BOM cost? Two screens, rubber feet that don't actually touch the table when the device is open, sub 3 hour battery life, non-upgradeable RAM with 4 GB as a maximum, and a non-standard SSD. This thing's a disaster; it never should have left the lab.

Like the whole Microsoft Tablet PC arrangement most Tablet PCs had over a decade ago? With a single center hinge that rotates 180 degrees either direction. That was/is the way to go.

Bought one of those (Acer travelmate C110) in 2003 for a whopping $2200. It is still going. Painfully slow to start, but gets the job done. Swivel hinge is absolutely the way to go. This (two screens) seems like a really bad design decision.

PS: If I can just find a 2.5" PATA SSD and a Maxell rechargeable CMOS battery, I can get another 5 years out if it I think.

I owned the exact same tablet PC, but it had an unfortunate hinge accident when a child got a hold of it on my desk while I was out of the room. Was a sad day indeed, but luckily it was a free test unit and not something I paid for myself.

At the risk of TOPIC, when is a trackpad actually good? It seems like every review I read includes as aside that the trackpad is shit.

Apple's Macbook Pro trackpads are great.

I find that they are only great, if you configure it to use taps instead of clicks. If you configure it to use clicks (the default configuration), it actually sucks, because it is hard to click the further away from center on the trackpad you are.

I'm much more looking forward to the Transformer Book. Ars first talked about it last year, but it'd been a while so I kinda forgot about it til I revisited Asus's website before commenting. I love the Transformer's form factor of detachable KB w/the bulkier things like the USB port, spare battery, added storage, etc as part of the dock. I also like the Surface's form factor, though they decided to keep the KB part much leaner, but I think I like Asus's approach better; keep the tablet lightweight and portable, weigh down the KB/dock, which also makes it a more stable stand. All the other attached convertible solutions look & feel clunky to me.

I'd like to point out some important points missed in the review that may justify the price point, especially relative to the 11" Macbook Air: 1) not only are you getting a 1080p IPS panel versus the lower quality 720p panel in the Air, you are getting two, and 2) the touchscreen includes a digitizer and the laptop comes with a pen for this. This is quite a point I don't see made important in the review. In terms of convertibles, the ability to switch between laptop and tablet, especially one with pen input and dedicated digitizer, is probably the best iteration of W8 convertible I've used to date. I do agree the battery life is probably the biggest qualm with the Taichi at the moment, but for what you get (two 1080p IPS screens, one a touchscreen with pen digitizer) in that kind of form factor, I think the price point is valid.

Edit: Also not mentioned in the review: while it is true that the rear rubber feet lift off the surface when the screen is up, there are small rubber nubs on the edge of the screen to protect it. It is not the frame of the screen touching whatever surface you have it on.

Every time I read a gadget review nowadays, there's always points deducted for wishy-washy complaints like "different metals", "plasticy finish", a wrong "feel", "flexing" or unnoticable weight differences. I wish we could just all decide to drop vague nonsense like this and focus on specs and usability again.

Every time I read a gadget review nowadays, there's always points deducted for wishy-washy complaints like "different metals", "plasticy finish", a wrong "feel", "flexing" or unnoticable weight differences. I wish we could just all decide to drop vague nonsense like this and focus on specs and usability again.

Not all people care about all of the same things that you care about when they're buying a computer. Case in point, someone was Tweeting at me just the other day about how they thought a big table with all the specs listed (like the ones we use at the top of our reviews these days) was pointless.

Also, some would argue that the "wishy-washy" stuff you're complaining about actually has a lot to do with how "usable" a given computer is.

I'd have to say this is one of those designs that people a few years later will look and laugh at. Some things I can see having potential, such as the Yoga design or the Sony Vaio slider, but a two-screen laptop is not one of them. Maybe a single, transparent screen and a dual orientation keyboard will work, but that's a few years away, at least.

No need to wait, I'm laughing now. This entire thing makes no sense. And only 4 gig of ram?

At the risk of TOPIC, when is a trackpad actually good? It seems like every review I read includes as aside that the trackpad is shit.

Apple's Macbook Pro trackpads are great.

I find that they are only great, if you configure it to use taps instead of clicks. If you configure it to use clicks (the default configuration), it actually sucks, because it is hard to click the further away from center on the trackpad you are.

I agree. The clicking is a bit annoying, noisy and requires a decent amount of force. If you've ever been in a quiet room with macbook users and heard the incessant *thunk thunk thunk* you know what I mean. Other than that they're nice.

I have no idea why so many here think the 2 screens is a bad idea. It's the perfect setup for note taking in class. Type something up while in laptop mode, then just close the lid and start scribbling away on the 2nd screen whenever necessary. No fiddling around with twisting a screen and folding it backwards.

Every time I read a gadget review nowadays, there's always points deducted for wishy-washy complaints like "different metals", "plasticy finish", a wrong "feel", "flexing" or unnoticable weight differences. I wish we could just all decide to drop vague nonsense like this and focus on specs and usability again.

Not all people care about all of the same things that you care about when they're buying a computer. Case in point, someone was Tweeting at me just the other day about how they thought a big table with all the specs listed (like the ones we use at the top of our reviews these days) was pointless.

Also, some would argue that the "wishy-washy" stuff you're complaining about actually has a lot to do with how "usable" a given computer is.

Some would, but those people would be fools. I've never heard someone label a device as less usable because it used different types of metal or had a "plasticy feel" to it, and I doubt anyone has. In fact, I've never heard somebody say "Yes, I bought device X. I didn't look at the specs but it doesn't flex and is made solely out of aluminium."

I'm not arguing that specs should be the sole defining factor in a review, but I'm arguing that gadget reviewers nowadays give too much weight to "flaws" in details many people would find negligible when buying devices.

If all you care about are specs, there's no reason to even read a review. A spec sheet can be obtained from the manufacturer. Materials, build quality, and execution...this is what a review can tell you that a manufacturer's spec sheet can't tell you...and this is why a good review dwells on these things.

4gb of ram that i can't upgrade and nonstanderd storage rule this one out for me, i really want a system that can act as a tablet but so far all of them have sucked in specs or design.

For all intents and purposes, the newer breed of tablets or convertibles are ultrabooks in a different form factor. Maybe what you want isn't even a tablet but a really powerful grunt work computer like a gaming laptop.

In any case, I've tried the Taichi and it's really heavy and unweildly to use in tablet form. The best case scenario I see for it is 70% laptop use, 30% tablet use vs the Acer 700's 30% laptop use, 70% tablet use.

The yoga is the better 50/50 device but again, battery and weight isn't as good as the W700. The dell is a truly nice machine with the same 70/30 use case as the Taichi, In which case, I'd much rather get the dell.

Andrew Cunningham / Andrew has a B.A. in Classics from Kenyon College and has over five years of experience in IT. His work has appeared on Charge Shot!!! and AnandTech, and he records a weekly book podcast called Overdue.